Leaked iPhone SE screen assembly shows it’s missing one key feature

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The iPhone SE is on the left, the iPhone 6s is on the right. What's missing?
The iPhone SE is on the left, the iPhone 6s is on the right. What's missing?
Photo: Nowhereelse.fr

Earlier today, we heard some disappointing news: The 4-inch iPhone SE probably won’t come with 3D Touch, Apple’s new force-sensitive touchscreen technology. Now, a leaked screen assembly purported to be of the iPhone SE seems to confirm that report as being true. Bummer!

Dark mode, 3D Touch: what iOS 10’s Notification Center should look like

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Sam Beckett thinks iOS 10's Notification Center could benefit from 3D Touch.
Sam Beckett thinks iOS 10's Notification Center could benefit from 3D Touch.
Photo: YouTube

Over the years, Apple concept designer Sam Beckett has made some killer videos, exploring possible ways Cupertino could revamp Notification Center. His latest concept again tackles Notification Center, but this time imagines how 3D Touch could make it better in iOS 10. I’m sold.

Why the 4-inch iPhone SE will be perfect for shutterbugs

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Got a new iPhone? Set it up right.
Got a new iPhone? Set it up right.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Some reports have suggested that when the 4-inch iPhone SE arrives next month, it’s updates over the iPhone 5s will top out with the addition of an A9 chip and NFC for Apple Pay. But reputable KGI Securities analyst Ming Chi Kuo says shutterbugs have something to look forward to, too: a sick 12MP camera.

This guy used a face-swapping app to sing every part in ‘We Are the World’

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Hello? Is it me you're looking for?
Hello? Is it me you're looking for?
Photo: Prosthetic Knowledge

Do you know FaceSwap Live? It’s this wonderfully grotesque app created by Laan Labs that lets you switch faces with anyone using your iPhone camera.

There’s all sorts of awesomely surreal uses for the app, but I don’t know a better one than what Rhett LeCompte did: He used FaceSwap Live to sing every single part in the 1985 supergroup classic, “We Are the World.”

This simple command will keep your Mac apps bleeding-edge

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You're a Terminal command away from keeping your Mac updated more frequently.
You're a Terminal command away from keeping your Mac updated more frequently.
Photo: Lifehacker

Here’s a surprising fact: By default, OS X only checks for software updates once a week. That’s shockingly infrequent, considering the fact that iOS and Windows both check for critical updates every day.

If you’d like your Mac to keep more on top of things, there’s an easy way to tell it to check for software updates more frequently.

Can you juggle three iPads? (Yes, but you probably shouldn’t)

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Olga Kay shows off her mad iPad juggling skillz.
Olga Kay shows off her mad iPad juggling skillz.
Photo: Olga Kay

The cheapest iPad costs $269. The most expensive iPad costs $1,079. And they’re all basically wafers of easily-damaged silicon, sandwiched between even more easily shattered glass.

The point? You don’t want to drop an iPad, let alone three of them. Yet that’s just what Olga Kay risked, trying to answer one timeless question: can you juggle iPads?

Steve Jobs’s smelly old sandals just sold at auction

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These stinky old Birkenstocks from Steve Jobs's NeXT years sold for a pretty price at auction today.
These stinky old Birkenstocks from Steve Jobs's NeXT years sold for a pretty price at auction today.
Photo: Mark Scheff

An odd assortment of purported artefacts from Steve Jobs’s wilderness years – including a pair of his rated running sandals – were sold at auction today. And while it’s not entirely clear who bought them, all of the disparate items, dating back to Steve Jobs’s NeXT years, still ended up earning a pretty penny.

AirFoil 5 lets you stream from your Mac to literally any speaker in your house

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Rogue Amoeba's AirFoil just got a lot more powerful.
Rogue Amoeba's AirFoil just got a lot more powerful.
Photo: Rogue Amoeba

Rogue Amoeba’s AirFoil has long been one of the Mac apps we can’t live without. The app allows Mac users to pump audio on an app-by-app basis to any AirPlay speaker within range.

Now, AirFoil 5 is here. And it’s a huge update. Not only does it introduce functionality that allows AirFoil to send audio to Bluetooth speakers and headphones (not just AirPlay devices, like the Apple TV), it can also send audio to multiple speaker groups at once.

Pad & Quill’s new wood cases for iPhone are tougher than steel

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The wood on this case has an almost wax-line finish for scratch-resistance.
The wood on this case has an almost wax-line finish for scratch-resistance.
Photo: Pad & Quill

Longtime Cult of Mac readers know I can be a sucker for wood. It’s a material with integrity, and I like the way it juxtaposes with Apple’s preferred design materials of metal and glass. I loved using Monolith’s beautiful wood veneers with my old iPhone 5. And I can’t wait to try Pad & Quill’s new gorgeous wood cases for the latest iPhones.

Apple must unlock the iPhone 5c’s encryption… or else

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The iPhone 5c might be broken wide open. And what's next?
The iPhone 5c might be broken wide open. And what's next?
Photo: Apple

In December 2015, Syed Rizwan Farook shot up an office party in an apparent terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California. He may have coordinated the attack on an iPhone 5c.

Since then, authorities have been trying to decrypt the device. And now, a U.S. magistrate is trying to force Apple to unlock it.